Diving into the Retreat Season with Crochet & Connection: A Hook & Book Retreat
March has gotten off to a fantastic start with our Hook & Book crochet retreat. Here’s a quick rundown of how our first retreat of the year is going!
Hosted by Lee Sartori of @coco.crochet.lee, this retreat provides a deep dive into amigurumi techniques, cables, and Tunisian crochet. Despite being only two days in, the cohort has already explored several beautiful sites in Portugal and developed strong cable techniques.
Participants arrived throughout the day on March 6th and spent the morning settling in, fueling up after their travels with coffee and banana bread, and getting to know each other. After this well-deserved reset, folks headed into Lisbon for a day of sight-seeing. Highlights included Livraria Bertrand (the world’s oldest bookstore) and tasting the iconic pastel de nata. We regrouped at O House for a welcome dinner (beef cheeks, homemade pasta, and lemon pavlova!) and orientation.
Practicing cables
For the first full day of the retreat, Lee got things rolling with a cables workshop. For many crocheters, cables can feel intimidating and out-of-reach, but by the end of the class, participants were well on their way to finishing their very own cabled headbands.
After a delicious lunch at O House, we headed to Mafra Palace. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is only 15 minutes from Ericeira and is a stunning example of Baroque architecture, as well as Portugal’s history, art, and culture. We marveled at the impressive exterior, then headed inside the historic halls. The Palace library was particularly inspiring, and we had a great time learning about the library’s rare books and the bats that live inside, eating harmful insects and helping preserve the books.
Exploring Mafra Palace 🏰
Today, stitchers will be starting the main project of the retreat: Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Lee will walk participants through the pattern step-by-step, coaching them on amigurumi techniques. We can’t wait to see their creations come to life, and will be back next week to share their incredible work!
